Trump suspends tariffs on small packages from China

U.S. President Donald Trump previously issued a sudden order to eliminate the tax-free treatment for small Chinese packages valued under $800 (approximately £645), causing the United States Postal Service and other agencies to scramble to respond. However, Trump subsequently suspended this tariff measure, causing the situation to change once again.

Due to the order, the United States Postal Service temporarily suspended the acceptance of packages from China, but reversed this decision a day later. This series of chaotic actions left many Americans worried about the fate of their packages ordered from companies like Shein and Temu, which have been rapidly expanding in the U.S. by taking advantage of the low-value package exemption policy.

Trump made this change over the weekend as part of a broader decision on February 4 to raise the border tax on Chinese goods by 10%. He revised the order on Friday, stating that the tariff exemption for packages from China valued under $800 would remain in effect until "a system is established that is adequate to comprehensively and expeditiously process and collect tariff revenue."

Meanwhile, other rapidly changing policies announced by Trump since taking office last month have also encountered obstacles, including legal challenges. Over the weekend, he said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, but quickly suspended those tariffs for a month to allow for continued negotiations. Trump said on Friday that he expects to announce "reciprocal tariffs" on many countries next week, a plan he floated during his campaign that the U.S. would impose tariffs at the same rate that other countries charge on similar U.S. products.

Even before Trump took office, the U.S. had already begun re-examining the exemption policy for low-value packages (known as "de minimis imports"). The Biden administration proposed tightening regulations on such packages from China last September, saying the move would help U.S. companies compete and address the challenge of preventing the trafficking of illegal drugs. In 2016, the U.S. raised the threshold for exemption from tariffs and other fees from $200 to $800 to promote trade and allow officials to focus on higher-priority shipments. But with the rapid expansion of e-commerce, and the number of packages valued under $800 entering the U.S. surging from 140 million to more than 1.3 billion last year, this decision has faced criticism.